9/19/2008
ARNE GREEN
Kansas State running back Leon Patton was arrested Thursday afternoon on a Riley County District Court warrant for child abuse.
On Friday morning, K-State coach Ron Prince announced that Patton, already on an indefinite suspension for a different incident, has been dismissed from the team.
Patton, 20, was held on $30,000 bond. The warrant stemmed from an investigation of an incident that occurred around July 15 in the Manhattan area.
The victim was a 4-month-old boy.
Because of the nature of the charges, the Riley County attorney insisted no other information be released regarding the case or the victim, according to a release from Riley County Police Department spokesman Lt. Kurt Moldrup.
Patton, a junior who rushed for 999 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first two seasons at K-State, had been suspended from the team since his July arrest on outstanding warrants for misdemeanor theft and an unpaid parking ticket.
Patton pleaded no contest to those charges and was sentenced to six months of probation and fined $100.
Because of the ongoing child abuse investigation, Prince said in a release that he would have no further comment on the matter at this time.
Patton, a 5-foot-7, 197-pounder from Dallas, was K-State's top returning rusher, with 390 yards and four touchdowns last year, and was the projected starter for this season. As a true freshman in 2006, he started three games and led the team with 609 yards and six scores.